Why Me?
by Merciless Angels Never Cry
Summary: Johnny learns the importance of choosing your friends carefully...


**Disclaimer: **Don't own Shadow Hearts.

**Author's Note: **Just some silly banter I thought up a while ago when playing Natan's ultimate UMA quest.

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><p><strong>Guiana Highlands<strong>

It took the group a while to reach their destination. Natan scanned the area carefully; his senses as sharp as ever. Shania made a critical survey as well, her hands almost hovering over the handles of her tomahawks as she looked at nearby bushes for enemies. The sixteen year old wanna-be-detective followed behind the tall blonde beauty, looking over the research files that they got from the university. He noticed a small piece of paper attached to one of the files.

"Uh, guys," Johnny said hesitantly. "It says here that it's supposed to be a big area." Natan nodded solemnly as the other members of the party groaned.

The vampire "super heroine" started to complain, however her constant bickering was quickly silenced with a glare from Shania. Johnny couldn't help but notice the slight flicker of red gleaming from her eyes. Was the Malice inside of her starting to come out? Fair enough, Hilda can be the most irritating person in the group if she didn't get her way, but that usually didn't provoke the Malice dormant in Shania's being. Shania looked away from the pouting vampire, her blue eyes downcast, fear and disgust evidently visible on her face.

Johnny raised his hand up to tap her shoulder, but slowly brought down his arm. He didn't want to raise suspicion from the other members of the group; the last thing he wanted was to upset his heartthrob crush more than she already was. Plus she would've been frustrated if he even insinuated that she couldn't handle the Malice burning inside of her. That time in Brooklyn, he saw a side of her that had never been shown before. The Garvoy warrior usually donned on a cold mask, but at that moment, she stripped it off and allowed Johnny to see just how vulnerable she was. Needless to say, she didn't allow the others to see that.

They searched most of the area; they came across three corpses, each holding a file about how to capture the UMA. After much debate, the gang decided that it might be best to split into small groups since the highlands were too vast to carry on exploring as one single unit.

"All right," Mao purred, wiping some left over rum with a large paw. "Let's vote as to who goes with who."

The mariachi looked puzzled, "So how many in each group? There are seven of us, making it impossible to even the number out."

"Well," she mused. "I think we are all capable enough to fight in groups of two. But for those who are still rather…naïve, to say the least, should go with two others." The others followed Mao's gaze to the perplexed boy detective, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh c'mon Master Meow!" Johnny whined. "I can look after myself!"

Hilda raised a thin eyebrow, "And what about the incident that happened last time?" Johnny stared at her, dumbfounded.

Frank left out a hearty laugh and slapped the youth's back rather hard, causing Johnny to cough a small bit. "POOR BOY! The enemy caught the boy off guard and in a matter of seconds, grabbed him, lifted him off the floor and started to FLY OFF WITH HIM!"

Johnny blushed, "I had everything under control!"

Ricardo placed his hands on his hips, "Then how come you were screaming for help? We had to chase after you for hours!"

Hilda smirked, "Luckily for you, Natan got a good enough shot and killed that God-forsaken bird!"

"So who's going with who?" Johnny smiled shakily, quickly changing the subject.

"Myself and Ricardo work well together. So it's a no brainer that we should stay together," Mao purred, her ears folding back from her student's sudden loud laughter. As a result, Frank got a furry kick into the face.

Shania folded her arms. 'Natan and I should go together,' she decided.

Johnny smiled. _I'll just go with Shania and Natan, they won't mind._

As Johnny opened his mouth to say something, Frank gave him another hard slap on the back. 'Boy will go with Fffffffrrrrank!' Frank declared jovially.

Johnny tried to protest but then Hilda butted in. 'What about me?' the young vampire whined, placing her hand on her hip.

Frank beamed down on her. 'Why Hilda, you can come with Boy and good ol' Frank.' He pulled the two close to his sides. 'We shall go and catch this TERRIFYING UMA!'

Natan nodded. 'Alright, let us go.' He left with Shania. Mao went with Ricardo, leaving poor Johnny, Hilda and an awkward silence behind. 'What did I get myself into…?' Johnny groaned, his head hanging.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hope ye enjoyed it! There'll be more on the way. Please review!xxx


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